"...a triumvirate of seasoned pros (directed) through a series
of thespian hoops that reveals them at their most uninhibited and zany best."
by Jose Ruiz, Entertainment Today
This is very close to Strindberg’s Dance of Death, although playwright Fredrich Dürrenmatt stated that he took the story and dramatic idea and reworked it to make a fast moving comic look at an under slice of marital blahs. The result is a farce that succeeds in keeping the audience laughing for most of its ninety minutes as Hope Alexander directs a triumvirate of seasoned pros through a series of thespian hoops that reveals them at their most uninhibited and zany best.
Scenes are set up as rounds (as in a boxing match), and in Round One, announced as “Conversation Before Dinner”, you get a hint of things to come when husband Edgar (Joe Garcia) and wife Alice (Holly Jeanne) sit in the living room for an interminable time never saying a word. He reads a newspaper; she does needlepoint, but they say nothing and barely acknowledge each other. The audience laughs hysterically, even when the actors say nothing, and by minute three, they’re rolling in the aisles.
It’s evident that this couple has created a delicate Hate–Hate relationship, and after twenty-five years of married “Hell”, (her words) they have an unbreakable bond that will keep them squabbling though thick and thin. Each round reveals they have mastered the art of communication with a unique non-communication of lies, insults and threats mixed with half-truths. It’s as if they both walk a suspension bridge, with each one shaking it hoping the other will fall, but inwardly afraid that it may really happen.
In Round 5, a new fighter enters the ring, as Alice’s cousin Kurt shows up, played by the multi–versatile Travis Michael Holder. Where Edgar is clearly a neurotic and Alice is expert at taunting, Holder manages the complex Kurt splendidly, sometimes refereeing, sometimes apologetic, and later aggressively pursuing Alice, so that we wonder about the character all the way to the surprising twist at the end
Garcia’s over-the-top Edgar is uproarious, while Jeanne is terrific, as she does a balancing act between the man she hates and the one she lusts. The three romp through Round 12 and as Kurt moves on, the fickle finger of fate brings the couple face to face with their worst fears.
Every married couple may see a little of themselves in this lampoon, and singles could be getting a preview of things to come if they make the wrong connection.
he production plays through February 22, 2004. Reservations at (818) 506-7550.
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